Christopher Causton

Christopher Causton (born August 15, 1946 in Cobham, Surrey, UK) is the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in Victoria for the 2011 federal election. He has been the mayor of Oak Bay, British Columbia since 1996.
Early life
Causton was born in Cobham, Surrey, UK on September 15, 1946. In 1968, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
Causton immigrated to Canada in 1972, settling in Victoria, where he owned and operated Rattenbury's Restaurant. Before settling in Oak Bay, Causton was actively involved in the James Bay and Fernwood communities of Victoria.
After running a successful restaurant, Causton ran for office in 1987 and was elected as an Oak Bay City Councilor. He was re-elected twice to this position before becoming mayor in 1996. He has since been re-elected four times.
Personal life
Christopher and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married since 1980 and have two daughters, Sarah and Jennifer. Both Elizabeth and Sarah are social workers and Jennifer is working with the Peace Corps in Rwanda.
Politics
Despite being touted as one of the more progressive mayors in the Capital Region District, under Causton’s leadership Oak Bay has been both slow and conservative on environmental, policing, zoning (in particular, not allowing secondary suites), and youth-related issues. His style of leadership has often been characterized as “wait-and-see,” which reflects Oak Bay’s cautious approach to progressive issues. According to the official Oak Bay site, there has been “a long-standing opposition to large commercial development” which has been endorsed since Causton was elected mayor.[http://www.tripsage.com/p/1/21143689/oak-bay-british-columbia#p/1/21143689/] He was the first mayor to allow electric cars in British Columbia and as chair of the Victoria Transit Commission approved late-night transit.
In addition to being the Mayor of Oak Bay, Christopher Causton currently sits as Chairman on various regional boards such as: Victoria Transit Commission, CRD Parks, The Oak Bay Police Board and The Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities.
The August 18, 2009 edition of the Oak Bay News newspaper ran a front page story on Mayor Causton. In it, Causton confirmed that he would be seeking the nomination to run as the Federal Liberal candidate in the Victoria riding. In the article, he stated that he was impressed with how the Liberal Party made developed its policy and goals. He received a high profile endorsement from former Victoria MP, David Anderson. He will be running against Patrick Hunt of the Conservative Party of Canada and Denise Savoie of the New Democratic Party. Denise Savoie has held the seat since 2006.
In a Press Release on March 28th 2011, Christopher Causton announced he would not seek another term as Mayor of Oak Bay.

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